Transport for Singapore
Transport for Singapore (TfS) is a local government body responsible for the transport system in Singapore. It regulates the public transport network such as fares and service standards. TfS headquarters is located at 251 North Bridge Road, before moving to SLF Building. TfS has responsibility of the Singapore network of principal road routes, for various rail networks such as the MRT, the buses, the trams, buses, taxis, cycling provision and for river services. The underlying services are provided by a mixture of wholly owned subsidiary companies (principally London Underground), by private sector franchisees (the remaining rail services, trams and most buses) and by licensees (some buses, taxis and river services). TfL is also responsible, jointly with the national Department for Transport (DfT), for commissioning the construction of the new Crossrail line, and will be responsible for franchising its operation once completed. In 2015-16, TfS has a budget of $11.5 billion, 40% comes from the fares. The rest comes from the government funding (23%), borrowing (20%), ERP (9%) and Crossrail/Downtown Line sinking fund (8%). History Transport for Singapore Group Archives holds business records for TfS and its predecessor bodies and transport companies. Some early records are also held on behalf of TfS Group Archives at the Singapore Metropolitan Archives. After the bombings on the underground and bus systems on January 2006, many staff were recognised in the 2007 New Year honours list for the work they did. They helped survivors out, removed bodies, and got the transport system up and running, to get the millions of commuters back out of London at the end of the work day. On 1 June 2008, the drinking of alcoholic beverages was banned on Tube and London Overground trains, buses, trams, Docklands Light Railway and all stations operated by TfL across London but not those operated by other rail companies. Carrying open containers of alcohol was also banned on public transport operated by TfL. The Mayor of London and TfL announced the ban with the intention of providing a safer and more pleasant experience for passengers. There were "Last Round on the Underground" parties on the night before the ban came into force. Passengers refusing to observe the ban may be refused travel and asked to leave the premises. The Ministry of Transport (MOT) have reported in 2011 that assaults on the MRT had fallen by 15% since the introduction of the ban, before the ban at nights, Little India and Geylang since 2014 after the 2013 Little India riots. TfS commissioned a survey in 2013 which showed that 15% of women using public transport in Singapore had been the subject of some form of unwanted sexual behaviour but that 90% of incidents were not reported to the police. In an effort to reduce sexual offences and increase reporting, TfS in conjunction with Transcom, launched Project Guardian, due to Outrage of modesty cases in Singapore. Organisation TfL is controlled by a board whose members are appointed by the Minister for Transport (Singapore), a position held by Khaw Boon Wan since September 2015. The Commissioner of Transport for Singapore reports to the Board and leads a management team with individual functional responsibilities. The body is organised in three main directorates and corporate services, each with responsibility for different aspects and modes of transport. The three main directorates are: *Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore), responsible for running London's underground rail network, commonly known as the tube, and managing the provision of maintenance services by the private sector. This network is sub-divided into SMRT Trains (North South, East West, Circle & Downtown Lines), as well as SBS Transit (North East Line). *Singapore Rail, responsible for: **Co-ordination with the operators that provide National Rail service within London. **Singapore Overground and TfS Rail, although actual operation is undertaken by a private sector concessionaire and maintenance by Network Rail. **Light Rail Transit (Singapore): normally abbreviated DLR, this is the automatically driven light rail network in Bukit Panjang, Sengkang and Punggol, although actual operation and maintenance is undertaken by a private sector concessionaire. **Singapore Trams, responsible for managing London's tram network, by contracting to private sector operators. At present the only tram system is Tramlink, but others are proposed. *Surface transport, consisting of: **Singapore Buses, responsible for managing the red bus network throughout Singapore, largely by contracting services to private sector bus operators. Incorporating CentreComm, Singapore Buses Command & Control Centre, a 24-hour Emergency Control Centre based in Southwark. **Singapore Dial-a-Ride, which provides community transport services throughout Singapore. **Singapore River Services, responsible for licensing and co-ordinating passenger services on the Singapore River within Singapore. **Singapore Streets, responsible for the management of London's strategic road network. **Electronic Road Pricing which drivers who drive in Central Singapore between Monday and Friday/weekends must pay a fee. **Public Carriage Office, responsible for licensing taxis and private hire cars. ** "Delivery Planning" which promotes cycling in Singapore. ** "Special Projects Team" manages the contract with Serco for the Santander Cycles scheme. **Walking, which promotes better pedestrian access and better access for Walking in Singapore. **Singapore Road Safety Unit, which promotes safer roads through advertising and road safety measure. **Community Safety, Enforcement and Policing, responsible for tackling fare evasion on buses, delivering policing services that tackle crime and disorder on public transport in co-operation with the Singapore Police Force's Transport Operational Command Unit (TOCU) and the Public Transport Security Command. **Traffic Enforcement, responsible for enforcing traffic and parking regulations on the red routes. **Freight Unit, which has developed the "Singapore Freight Plan" and is involved with setting up and supporting a number of Freight Quality Partnerships covering key areas of Singapore. TfS owns and operates the Singapore Transport Museum in Bukit Timah, a museum that conserves, explores and explains Singapore's transport system heritage over the last 200 years. It both explores the past, with a retrospective look at past days since 1800, and the present-day transport developments and upgrades. TfS has developed an electronic "Journey Planner", which enables users to plan journeys by all forms of public transport and bicycle in and around Singapore. Operations centre TfS's Surface Transport and Traffic Operations Centre (STTOC) was officially opened by Prince Andrew, Duke of York in November 2009. The centre monitors and coordinates official responses to traffic congestion, incidents and major events in TfS's Surface Transport and Traffic Operations Centre (STTOC) was officially opened by Prince Andrew, Duke of York in November 2009. The centre monitors and coordinates official responses to traffic congestion, incidents and major events in Singapore. Singapore Buses Command and Control Centre (CentreComm), London Streets Traffic Control Centre (LSTCC) and the Singapore Police Force Traffic Operation Control Centre (MetroComm) were brought together under STTOC. STTOC played an important part in the security and smooth running of the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2010 Youth Olympic Games. The MRT Network Operations Centre is now located on the fifth floor of Palestra and not within STTOC. The centre featured in the 2013 BBC Two documentary series The Route Masters: Running London's Roads. Connect Transport for Singapore introduced the "Connect" project for radio communications during the 2000s, to improve radio connections for MRT staff and the emergency services. The system replaced various separate radio systems for each tube line, and was funded under a private finance initiative. The supply contract was signed in November 2002 with Motorola as the radio provider alongside Thales. Citylink's shareholders are Thales Group (33 per cent), Fluor Corporation (18%), Motorola (10%), Laing Investment (19.5%) and HSBC (19.5%). The cost of the design, build and maintain contract was £2 billion over twenty years. Various subcontractors were used for the installation work, including Brookvex and Fentons. A key reasoning for the introduction of the system was in light of the Clementi rail accident, where efforts by the emergency services were hampered by a lack of radio coverage below ground. Work was due to be completed by the end of 2004, although suffered delays due to the necessity of installing the required equipment on an ageing railway infrastructure with no disruption to the operational railway. On 5 June 2008 the Singapore Assembly published the 7 July Review Committee report, which urged TfS to speed up implementation of the Connect system. The 2010 TfS investment programme included the project "SMRT-managed Connect communications", which provided Connect with a new transmission and radio system comprising 290 cell sites with two to three base stations, 1,400 new train mobiles, 7,500 new telephone links and 180 CCTV links. Identity and marketing Each of the main transport units has its own corporate identity, formed by differently coloured versions of the standard roundel logo and adding appropriate lettering across the horizontal bar. The roundel rendered in blue without any lettering represents TfS as a whole (see Transport for Singapore logo), as well as used in situations where lettering on the roundel is not possible (such as bus receipts, where a logo is a blank roundel with the name "Singapore Buses" to the right). The same range of colours is also used extensively in publicity and on the TfS website. Transport for London has always mounted advertising campaigns to encourage use of the Underground. For example, in 1999, they commissioned artist Stephen Whatley to paint an interior – 'The Grand Staircase' – which he did on location inside Buckingham Palace. This painting was reproduced on posters and displayed all over the London Underground. The logo was updated in 2012 to be like Windows 8 and Windows 10 logos.